Foreword by Trinity International LLP

Where did the idea come from?

As a law firm that specialises in advising on the development and financing of independent power projects (“IPPs”) in Africa, we at Trinity like to think that we understand the challenges of developing and financing a successful IPP on the continent.

We wanted to share some of this experience - and that of our Contributors - in respect of the electricity sector in key African jurisdictions. We aimed to present this knowledge in a practical and user-friendly way so that it could be a useful resource for developers, lenders and other stakeholders taking on the challenges of developing IPPs across Africa. And so, The Africa Power Guide was born.

Players in the market

There are a relatively small number of active players in the African power sector, certainly in comparison with other markets. We felt that one of the factors contributing towards the lack of developers was the lack of up-to-date information available in the public forum.

We hope that The Africa Power Guide will provide much of that missing information and help to demystify the African power market. We hope it will provide a first port of call for new market entrants and a useful reference tool for anyone interested in the power sector in emerging markets.

Thanks and contributors

We should like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Contributors for their invaluable assistance in compiling The Africa Power Guide.

Thanks also go to our web designers, Marchhouse Design (www.marchhouse.co.za), and the entire Trinity team for their continued assistance with bringing this website together.

We welcome any feedback and hope you find The Africa Power Guide useful.

Simon Norris and Kaushik RayEditors of The Africa Power Guide Trinity International LLP